The Thailand Tour: The Mountains

Another overnight train from Bangkok and we've reached our final chapter of our Thai adventure!

Chiang Mai

Paradise. The name of our hotel that was our home-base for the remainder of our trip. The one word that defines the exact opposite of this place. A jail-like, concrete building located along a back alley of Chiang Mai. Scum coating the surface of the indoor pool, bird droppings on the breakfast tables, ants in the sinks, in our beds, and in our pants. Paradise.

Although we were far from paradise we happened to be right around the corner from a terrific local restaurant that I must say ranks #1 in the pad thai category!

Daytime in the area was spent hopping from food place to food place whether we were looking for a meal or trying to kill time. We also took our chances not knowing what to expect to get out of the five whole dollars we spent for an hour long Thai Massage. Oh man, having my body twisted in awkward positions and having my muscles kneaded by the hands, elbows, and feet of a little thai lady was just what I needed after sleeping in trains, planes and automobiles and not to mention bamboo "beds" throughout the course of our trip. That was the first and only massage I've ever gotten aaaaaand probably the last in a long time considering my low expectations of finding anywhere else offering such a service for anywhere near that price!

Nighttime in the area included wandering the stock-filled streets of the Night Bizaar where we spent more time and money than anyone can consider normal...

We really just wanted another chance to dress up in long thai skirts with pretty stitching and what other place to do such a thing than a Buddhist temple? So up Doi Suthep we went to see beautiful Wat Phra That sitting at the top. We wandered around there for a bit, but you can only spend so much time taking pictures of peaceful Buddhas when tigers are next in line. We went back down the mountain to Mae Rim where we got up close and personal with some ferocious felines at Tiger Kingdom. If the walk up the stairs to the temple didn't get my heart rate up... this sure did.

Doi Inthanon

Into the jungle we went. Three days and two nights in Doi Inthanon National Park. Bamboo rafting, hiking, waterfall bathing, tribal village dwelling, hiking, elephant riding, hiking... I can say with confidence that this was the best experience I had in this country! We were able to do so many neat activities and interact closely with the Karen tribe people who live in the jungle with their own language, villages, and sustainable way of life. They lived in small huts without doors and had minimal electricity other than a couple solar panels that they can benefit from when its not wet season. They used and reused everything they could, brewed their own alcohol, and had what could very well end up being their dinner running around the roads! We exchanged songs with the village children, were challenged with riddles by the cheif, and played takraw (think volleyball with no use of hands). When it came to sleeping we were under a roof, a mozi-net and on top of bamboo, and woke up to the roosters... which seemed to be a little confused, cock-a-doodle-doo-ing at 4:00 am... then again at 6:00...

That is Thailand.

Sincerely,
THAI

The Thailand Tour: The Islands

Hopped off our plane in Bangkok Thursday evening, toured around the next day only to head off down to the south on an overnight bus that night. This was only the first of many nights in transit.. why pay for hostels and accommodation when you can "sleep" while you're on the move around the country?

Out of the 14 nights we spent in the country: two were on a bus, two were on a train, two were in the jungle, and one was on a ferry aaaand to top that all off the plane ride home was also through the night... so I guess its safe to say that sleeping was anything but restful luxury, or priority.

Phuket

Our first overnight bus brought us to Phuket. Rather than staying in the crowded tourist areas we opted for a cute little hostel in the heart of old Phuket Town that ensured us a good night sleep for the next two nights.

Daytime included shopping around the markets and clothing stores in Phuket Town and also heading up to Karon Beach where we did the same thing... with the addition of swimming, rolling in the sand, and getting our feet cleaned by fish!

Nighttime included a trip to Patong Beach... where we were convinced: to participate in street magic tricks, to observe a ping pong show (which we may never be the same after), and that our hostel in quiet Phuket Town was the most ideal place to stay if you wanted to sleep at night.

Koh Phi Phi

With no more than just a day long speed boat tour away from Phuket we were able to take in the beauty that these little Thai islands have to offer. Stops en route included: Maya Bay where we snorkelled in the same waters where Leo DiCaprio filmed the movie "The Beach", The Viking Cave, Monkey Beach where we discovered that monkeys do like bananas, and Koh Khai where we discovered that fish also like bananas and become quite aggressive once they've gotten a bit of sugar in their tummies.

It just wouldn't have been quite the same without our tour guide who claimed that the monkeys are his cousins and brothers... although he spent his spare time listening and singing along to Katy Perry on his iPhone I couldn't help starting to believe his monkey claims after he introduced himself as King Kong, and used a monkey call to summon us to gather as a group.

Koh Pha Ngan

The one night we planned our entire trip around was approaching. The night we were to party under the full moon.

Now, how did we get there? ...an overnight ferry boat cargo ship that chugged along at about 5km/h and was loaded with eggs, bottled water, various vegetables, close to a hundred tourists, a kitten, and as we were to find out at 6:00 a.m... a rooster. On each ticket you are assigned a "bed" number on the full floor coverage mattress that allotted you about 40cm to yourself, leaving you squished shoulder to shoulder with a stranger.

Anyways... didn't realize there was a rooster on board until we heard the cock-a-doodle-doo at 6:00a.m as we docked in the pier of Koh Pha Ngan. We checked into our resort and killed time on Haad Yao Beach and by the pool while we waited for the moon to come up...

An included buffet breakfast feast at the resort in the morning was just what we needed before the long journey ahead of us. A 3.5 hour ferry back to the mainland, an hour bus ride to the train station, and an overnight train later... we were back in Bangkok for the day... then another overnight train and Chiang Mai here we come!

Sincerely,
THAI

The Thailand Tour: The Big City

Home from the Grampians, out for Amy's birthday, jet off to Thailand... this all occured within about 15 hours and then 10 hours later I was landed in Bangkok!

Bangkok

We spent a grand total of 3 days in the city of Bangkok within the two week span of our trip. We landed there, pit-stopped there between trains from the Islands to Chiang Mai, and then flew back out of there at the end.

Here is the low down for March 22, March 28, and April 4:

Rules of the road: N/A.

- If you're in a car the rules are more difficult to avoid because your vehicle is too large for the ridiculously packed streets but traffic lights might as well be Christmas decorations.

- If you're in a Tuk Tuk you can drive on either side of the road, regardless of the direction the traffic is flowing.

- If you're on a scooter or motorbike you absolutely never have to stop, and you are able to constantly weave in and around anywhere you want whenever you want.

- If you're a pedestrian... you have absolutely never have the right of way and you pretty much have to pray someone slows down or stops for you as you step out into the mayhem to cross the street.

As we were to find out later that the 10฿ each Tuk Tuk tour ride that we were sold on is one of the biggest scams you can come across in this city... but we thoroughly enjoyed our little tour!

 Buddhist temples may have some of the most beautiful decor you could come by. Sparkling gold and coloured mosiacs on roofs and gold painted molding on doors and entry ways. We explored the grounds of the Grand Palace and Wat Pho where we saw a spectacular reclined Buddha.

Whether it be at the enormous Siam Shopping Centre, markets in squares, on the streets, or floating on canals you can buy anything from fresh fruit to knock-off designer anything to a $2.50 eyebrow threading session...

I got a taste of pretty much everything Bangkok had to offer in the short amount of time we spent there in between destinations. We only slept there one night so we didn't hit up the night life on Khao San Road but I got a nice feel of the extremely touristy street on my last day there where I grabbed some lunch before my flight home.

Keep checking back in, I'll be doing a post for every place we went! 

Sincerely,
THAI